Mediasplode #64 - Year-End Mailbag: Answering Your Questions!

Nov 6, 2025

Dive into a lively discussion as the hosts rave about the latest season of Only Murders in the Building and reflect on Marc Maron's impactful podcast journey. They analyze Jim Downey's influence on SNL and critique the film Smoke while celebrating the unique storytelling in The Lowdown. Listeners get a thrill from exploring wild hypothetical questions, including the potential impact of removing iconic creators like the Beatles. Plus, they share personal anecdotes about surprising childhood movie experiences and delve into niche reading interests.

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INSIGHT

Tone-Shifting Builds Immersive TV Worlds

Sterling Harjo's shows craft distinct, lived-in universes that blend humor and darkness.
Ron praised The Lowdown for unique tone-shifts and authentic Tulsa-rooted storytelling.

ANECDOTE

Seeing Del Toro's Fresh Frankenstein

Ron saw Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein in theaters and found it a melodramatic, fresh take on a familiar story.
He enjoyed the period-piece aesthetics and Oscar Isaac's performance despite casting concerns about the monster.

ADVICE

Match Opera Projects To Their Real Audience

Avoid forcing pop culture into traditional opera expecting crossover audiences.
Recognize that opera patrons and pop fans rarely overlap, so adapt projects to real audiences not trends.

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Thanks to our awesome Patrons, we're proud to present another episode of Mediasplode!

What's a Mediasplode? It's a monthly special edition show in which we talk about what we are enjoying in media outside of the realm of comic books. It's like our All Media Year End Round-Up but in a shorter, monthly format.

Note: Time codes are estimates due to dynamic ad insertion by the distributor.

SPOILERS BELOW!

Running Time: 01:06:23

This month, Josh Flanagan and Conor Kilpatrick are joined by their original Pick of the Week co-host Ron Richards to discuss...

What We've Been Enjoying:
00:03:15 - Josh loved Downey Wrote That on Peacock but didn't really love Smoke on AppleTV+
00:15:25 - Conor (and Ron) loved the latest season of Only Murders in the Building on Hulu and salutes the end of WTF with Marc Maron
00:22:04 - Ron (and Conor) are loving The Lowdown on Hulu and he got to the theaters to see Guillermo Del Toro's Frankenstein

Year-End Mailbag!:
00:30:52 - Patrick K. from North Carolina asks if any movies we saw as kids shocked us that we were allowed to see?
00:34:02 - Dan C. from New Jersey wants to know what IP could be translated to opera?
00:37:27 - Woulter L. asks a great question about the impact of removing the Beatles or another media creator from the timeline and what the impact would be
00:43:22 - Pete wants to know if we listen to college radio?
00:50:55 - Zak H. from Milwaukee is looking for (hypothetical) book recommendations about the mafia (which doesn't exist).
00:53:11 - Doug M. wants to know more movies that are "bad" but also "good"?
00:58:28 - Stephen H. from Wrexham, Wales, United Kingdom wants to know if anyone in our families shame us for our interests?
01:01:02 - Jacob asks a fantastic question about G.I. Joe vs. Predator that breaks our brains.

Music:
"B A D I D E A"
Militarie Gun

Listen to Conor, Josh, and Ron discuss Blade (1998) on Cradle to the Grave.
Listen to Josh discuss Fargo on Movie of the Year: 1996.
Listen to Conor discuss Swingers on Movie of the Year: 1996.
Watch Ron talk about pinball technology on the Daily Tech News Show.
Listen to Conor discuss Ghostbusters on Movie of the Year: 1984.
Listen to Conor, Josh, and Ron discuss The Crow (1994) on Cradle to the Grave.
Listen to Josh discuss Jaws 4: The Revenge (1987) on Cradle to the Grave.
Listen to Josh discuss Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) on Cradle to the Grave.
Watch Josh and Conor talk about how to start a podcast on OpenWater.

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